Drew Fortescue and his U.S. teammates walked out of the tunnel at the Scandinavium arena in Gothenburg, Sweden and immediately found themselves awash in a sea of yellow. 

Other than a few small pockets of red, white and blue, the capacity crowd of 11,512 was sporting the home team’s colors and was in full-throated support as they waited for the puck to drop on the gold-medal game of the 2024 IIHF World Junior Championship.

For most 18-year-olds it would be hard to not be overwhelmed with the magnitude of the moment, but the Pearl River native is not a typical teenaged hockey player. He was made to be here and is at his best on the game’s biggest stage. So rather than let  nerves get the better of him, he skated around the ice trying to take it all in.

“When you hop out of the tunnel and you see the whole crowd is all in yellow, it’s something that is pretty special,” Fortescue said after helping the U.S. win its sixth gold medal with a convincing 6-2 victory in the final game. 

“It’s kind of a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. I wasn’t nervous. I was more excited and kind of grateful for the opportunity. Just being able to play in that game was really special and something that I won’t forget.”

It also helps to be surrounded by a band of brothers whose bonds were strengthened from spending almost a month together preparing for the tournament. And as one of seven Boston College Eagles on the team, Fortescue didn’t have to look far to find a familiar face.

It also helped that his family was a fixture at U.S. games as the cheering section swelled as the tournament went on.

“We ended up having like 15 or 20 people there. They kept adding up as the games were going on,” he said. “A lot of them were my cousins, aunts and uncles from Pearl River who actually ended up flying out there and I got to celebrate with them after that.”

With two seasons at USA Hockey’s National Team Development Program under his belt Fortescue has grown accustomed to playing on the international stage. Last year he helped the U.S. strike gold at the Under-18 Men’s World Championship, a moment that previously topped his list of favorite hockey memories. It may now have to share the top spot with what happened this year.

Fortescue began his career playing for the Ramapo Saints, where his dad was his coach for several seasons. He eventually laced up the skates with the Don Bosco Prep Iron Men before joining the NTDP. 

Competing against older players in the USHL and in college exhibition games has helped harden his game, which is based on playing sound and steady in the defensive end while also looking for his chances to help on the offensive end of the ice.

That was on display during the quarterfinal game against Latvia, where he corralled a puck at the left point, made a juke move to the middle and released a wrist shot that sailed past the Latvian goalie. 

“Whenever you get those, especially when they don’t come around too often, especially scoring a goal in a quarterfinal game, that was pretty special,” he said. “Anytime you’re wearing a USA jersey, no matter if you’re scoring or not, just being able to play and represent your country is something that’s really special.”

The moments following the gold-medal victory were a haze of celebration and transportation as the team quickly made its way home after three weeks in Sweden. Fortescue managed to spend three days in Pearl River before heading back to the BC campus where his focus quickly turned to schoolwork and preparing for a weekend series with Providence College. 

As the top-ranked team in college hockey, the Eagles head down the home stretch looking to bring the national championship trophy back to Chestnut Hill. With seven battle-tested international warriors leading the charge, the odds look to be in their favor.

“With the number of guys we had at that tournament, it gives us a lot of confidence,” the freshman blueliner said. “We know what we have with our team and not just the guys who went [to Sweden]. We have a hell of a team and going forward we have to continue to work hard. The way we play I think we can make a long run this year and I’m really looking forward to it.”

And on a personal level, Fortescue knows he still has a way to go to get his game ready for the next stage. As a third-round pick of the N.Y. Rangers in the 2023 NHL Draft, his family and friends won't have to log nearly as many miles to see him play with the Broadway Blueshirts.

Before he gets too far ahead of himself, Fortescue will use his experience on the international stage to take his game to the next level. 

“Playing against the best in the World Juniors, it’s something that you dream of as a kid and you’re playing against the best competition under 20,” he said. “I think I had a pretty good tournament and that will help me going forward and kind of gives me a little confidence going through the rest of the year.”